14 Benefits of Being in a Relationship

In my previous article, I have enumerated the benefits of being single. Aside from having the freedom to live your life to the fullest, you also save yourself from heartaches and headaches that usually come with the perks of being in a committed relationship.

However, I am not saying that you should not get into a relationship. If you are in love with a person with whom you can see the future and both of you are willing to commit to each other, then it is worth the risk. No relationship is perfect, but if you work together, you will experience these advantages:

1. It makes you happy.
Being with the person you are in-love with releases your happy hormones. No wonder, some people call their partners their “happy pills”. It is not surprising that whenever you are down or something is wrong, the first person you want to come to your side is your ‘sweetheart’.

2. Having a partner who supports you makes you feel more confident and secure.
Having a supportive boyfriend/girlfriend is not only inspiring. It encourages you to pursue your passion or goals no matter how hard it goes. If you have a partner who believes in you, then you become more confident of what you can do—and the desire to impress him/her serves as a fuel to push harder too.

3. You are less prone to stress.A healthy relationship is a good stress-reliever. Your partner does not only serve as a shock absorber of your dramas, but s/he can cheer you up whenever you are so gloomy because of a frustrating day at work. An evening walk or jog at the park, a movie date, or a simple conversation over a cup of coffee can help replenish your energy.

4. There is someone who can honestly correct you.
The person who truly loves you will never tolerate your mistakes. If you have a partner who rebukes you whenever you have done something wrong, then you are headed in the right direction. S/he can influence you to be a good person and citizen.

5. You discover more about yourself and the person you want to spend your life with.
Yes, being single will help you discover more about your world, personality, and capabilities. However, being in a relationship can help you learn more about yourself too—your social skills, attitude, and true character whenever you are with someone else. Moreover, the relationship stage is the time to discover whether you really want to spend a lifetime with the person you are in love with.

6. It helps you become more patient and understanding.
Being with a person who comes from a different background and has a different personality from you will really challenge your patience. It is normal to have misunderstandings in a relationship, but if both of you are willing to work things out, soon you will learn to control your temper and stretch your patience and understanding towards each other.

7. You learn how to be humble.
One of the secrets of a healthy and long-lasting relationship is humility. Mature couples are forgiving, willing to admit mistakes, and can even say “sorry” to each other even if they think they are not the ones at fault in the conflict.

8. It makes you open-minded.
In a relationship, you have to respect your partner’s thoughts and accept that you are not always right. It makes you open to the reality that different people usually have different perspectives about the world, and your partner’s views could be different from yours. If you want a harmonious relationship, then you must know better than to insist on your opinions to your partner.

9. There is someone to take care and check on you.
One of the practical benefits of being in a relationship is having someone who looks after your well-being—aside from your mother. There is someone to check if you have eaten already or you are safe home late at night. Also, whenever you are sick, someone would make sure you have taken your medicines and cook you your favorite meals.

10. You get more encouraged to be healthy.
As you plan together for your future, surely, one of your goals is to be healthy to avoid costly hospitalizations and the other terrible results of having someone sick in the family. You will notice how your food choices become healthier and you become eager to exercise regularly. Leaving behind unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking alcohol will be easier too.

11. Planning for the future becomes a team effort.
When you are single, you have the freedom to dream about your future family and goals. However, it is when you are in a committed relationship that you can start practically planning for those goals. You become accountability partners in making sure those plans will be met by taking steps towards them now.

12. Your family and circle of friends grow bigger.
Committing to a relationship allows you to expand your social circle as you enter the world of your partner. You start building a relationship with his/her family, and you get to know his/her friends too.

13. Someone is there to help you become a better person.
Overall, you can say that you are in a healthy relationship if it helps you to be a more mature individual. You and your partner must help each other become more stable physically, emotionally, financially, mentally, and spiritually. This happens as you both humbly acknowledge your flaws and strive to improve on those areas.

14. You discover what true love really is. True love makes a relationship healthy and enduring throughout the hard times. It will teach you to be selfless by putting the needs of your partner first. In addition, you learn what unconditional love means as you give without asking anything in return.

Only the Healthy Counts

Not all relationships are worth keeping. Only those that are healthy—the ones that help both parties to be a better version of themselves—are beneficial in the long run. If you are with a partner whom you are finding hard to trust, does not look out for you, and only takes you for granted, then maybe it would be better to consider singlehood at the moment.

Joan is a freelance blogger who loves writing about personal development. She also loves learning and teaching languages. A Communication Arts graduate, she now pursues a masters degree in Language Teaching. She is into mobile photography, writing poems, and reading for leisure.

Reader Interactions

Comments

I loved! I really liked it!
Perfect, Right, Efficient!
This article helped me make the right decision. I now want to experience a relationship.
I was always looking for the benefits of a relationship, but I never knew, I just thought there were good feelings. I cut off these relationships.
Unfortunately, there were no resources in Persian that could help. But you helped me thank you.
Translated by Google It may be misunderstood. Anyway I know a little English!
Keep going. This will make a great contribution to many people.

Great article. Having had the belief that being single is in the long term the best status, this article has motivated me to, try to overcome relationship challenges as there are benefits of being in a relationship that are worth fighting for and not giving up at the first hurdle.